Methods and systems for displaying additional content on a heads up display displaying a virtual reality environment

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10691199-B2
Application number	US-201816009782-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 15, 2018
Priority date	Apr 27, 2016
Publication date	Jun 23, 2020
Grant date	Jun 23, 2020

Abstract

Methods and systems for enabling a user to perform a full body movement while viewing a virtual reality environment on a head up displays without interfering with viewing of content on the heads up display. Specifically, a full body movement of the user is detected. In response to detecting the full body movement, the additional content is generated for display in a portion of the virtual reality environment corresponding to a foreground area of the user's visual field. The additional content assists the user perform the full body movement.

First claim

I claim:

1. A method for viewing content on a heads up display, comprising:
generating for display main content in a first portion of the heads up display, wherein the first portion corresponds to a non-peripheral area of a visual field of a user;
generating for display, in a second portion of the heads up display, additional content, wherein the second portion corresponds to a peripheral area of the visual field of the user;
detecting, with control circuitry, a head movement of the user based on a signal from an accelerometer; and
in response to detecting the head movement with the control circuitry, moving display of the additional content from the second portion of the heads up display to the first portion of the heads up display.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating for display the additional content comprises generating for display the additional content as a picture-in-picture.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein detecting the head movement includes detecting a full body movement of the user.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein detecting the full body movement of the user comprises detecting, by the accelerometer, a first footstep taken by the user.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:
detecting a second footstep taken by the user; and
in response to the detecting of the second footstep, enlarging the additional content.

6. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:
detecting a second footstep taken by the user; and
in response to the detecting of the second footstep, performing at least one of decreasing an opacity of the main content and increasing an opacity of the additional content.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving an input from the user; and
in response to the input, removing the additional content from the heads up display.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the heads up display is a head-mounted display physically coupled to the head of the user.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
detecting that the user is substantially stationary; and
in response to the detecting that the user is substantially stationary, generating for display the additional content in a third portion of the display that is not in the non-peripheral area of the visual field of the user.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising presenting an option to the user to stop playback of the main content.

11. A system for viewing content on a heads up display, comprising:
control circuitry configured to:
generate for display main content in a first portion of a heads up display, wherein the first portion corresponds to a non-peripheral area of a visual field of a user;
generate for display, in a second portion of the heads up display, additional content, wherein the second portion corresponds to a peripheral area of the visual field of the user; and
in response to detecting a head movement, move display of the additional content from the second portion to the first portion; and

a detection module configured to detect the head movement of the user.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured, when generating for display the additional content, to generate for display the additional content as a picture-in-picture.

13. The system of claim 11 , wherein the detection module is further configured, when detecting the head movement, to detect a full body movement of the user.

14. The system of claim 11 , wherein the detection module is further configured, when detecting the full body movement of the user, to detect, using the accelerometer, a first footstep taken by the user.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the detection module is further configured to detect, using the accelerometer, a second footstep taken by the user, and the control circuitry is further configured, in response to the detecting of the second footstep, to enlarge the additional content.

16. The system of claim 14 , wherein the detection module is further configured to detect, using the accelerometer, a second footstep taken by the user, and the control circuitry is further configured, in response to the detecting of the second footstep, to perform at least one of decreasing an opacity of the main content and increasing an opacity of the additional content.

17. The system of claim 11 , wherein a user interface is configured to receive an input from the user, and the control circuitry is further configured, in response to the input, to remove the additional content from the heads up display.

18. The system of claim 11 , wherein the heads up display is a head-mounted display physically coupled to the head of the user.

19. The system of claim 11 , wherein the detection module is further configured to detect that the user is substantially stationary, and the control circuitry is further configured, in response to the detecting that the user is substantially stationary, to generate for display the additional content in a third portion of the display that is not in the non-peripheral area of the visual field of the user.

20. The system of claim 11 , wherein a user interface is configured to present an option to the user to stop playback of the main content.

Assignees

• Rovi Guides Inc

Inventors

• Shanware Ajit

Classifications

• G02B2027/0118

  comprising devices for improving the contrast of the display / brillance control visibility · CPC title

• G02B2027/0187

  slaved to motion of at least a part of the body of the user, e.g. head, eye · CPC title

• G06F3/0346

  with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a three-dimensional [3D] space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors · CPC title

• G02B2027/014

  comprising information/image processing systems · CPC title

• G02B27/01

  Head-up displays · CPC title